Silk Performance Apparel and Products and Methods of Preparing the Same
Silk infused performance apparel and methods of preparing the same are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, silk performance apparel includes textiles, fabrics, consumer products, leather, and other materials that are coated with aqueous solutions of pure silk fibroin-based protein fragments. In some embodiments, coated apparel products, textiles, and upholstery, as well as other materials, exhibit surprisingly improved moisture management properties, resistance to microbial growth, increased abrasion resistance, and flame resistance.
1 .- 109 . (canceled)
110 . A method of coating a leather substrate with a silk fibroin composition comprising silk fibroin fragments having an average weight average molecular weight selected from between about 5 kDa and about 144 kDa, between about 5 and about 10 kDa, between about 6 kDa and about 16 kDa, between about 17 kDa and about 38 kDa, between about 39 kDa and about 80 kDa, between about 60 and about 100 kDa, or between about 80 kDa and about 144 kDa,
wherein the silk fibroin fragments have a polydispersity of between 1 and about 5.0, and
wherein the silk fibroin fragments, prior to coating the leather, do not spontaneously or gradually gelate and do not visibly change in color or turbidity when in a solution for at least 10 days, the method comprising:
(a) coating a surface of the leather substrate with the silk fibroin composition; and
(b) drying the surface of the leather substrate that has been coated with the silk fibroin composition.
111 . The method of claim 110 , wherein drying the surface of the leather comprises heating the surface of the leather without substantially modifying silk fibroin coating performance
112 . The method of claim 110 , the composition further comprising about 0.01% (w/w) to about 10% (w/w) sericin relative to the silk fibroin fragments.
113 . The method of claim 110 , wherein the silk fibroin is selected from natural silk fibroin and recombinant silk fibroin.
114 . The method of claim 110 , wherein the silk fibroin is selected from spider silk fibroin and silkworm silk fibroin.
115 . The method of claim 114 , wherein the silkworm silk fibroin is Bombyx mori silk fibroin.
116 . The method of claim 110 , wherein the coating comprises a copolymer.
117 . The method of claim 110 , wherein the leather is natural leather.
118 . The method of claim 117 , wherein the natural leather is selected from chrome-tanned leather, vegetable-tanned leather, aldehyde-tanned leather, brain-tanned leather, formaldehyde-tanned leather, Chamois leather, rose-tanned leather, synthetic-tanned leather, alum-tanned leather, patent leather, Vachetta leather, nubuck leather, rawhide leather, split leather, full-grain leather, top-grain leather, and corrected-grain leather.
119 . The method of claim 110 , wherein the leather is synthetic leather.
120 . The method of claim 119 , wherein the synthetic leather is selected from poromeric imitation leather, vinyl and polyamide felt fibers, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), polyamide, polyester, textile-polymer composite microfibers, corfan, koskin, leatherette, BIOTHANE®, BIRKIBUC®, BIRKO-FLOR®, CLARINO®, ECOLORICA®, KYDEX®, LORICA®, NAUGAHYDE®, REXINE®, VEGETAN®, FABRIKOID®, or combinations thereof.
121 . The method of claim 110 , wherein coating a surface of the leather comprises one or more of a bath coating process, a kiss rolling process, spray coating, and a two-sided rolling process.
122 . The method of claim 110 , wherein the coating has a thickness selected from the group consisting of about 5 nm, about 10 nm, about 15 nm, about 20 nm, about 25 nm, about 50 nm, about 100 nm, about 200 nm, about 500 nm, about 1 m, about 5 μm, about 10 μm, and about 20 μm.
123 . The method of claim 110 , wherein the coating is adsorbed on the leather.
124 . The method of claim 110 , wherein the coating is attached to the leather through chemical cross-linking, enzymatic cross-linking, thermal cross-linking, or irradiative cross-linking.
125 . The method of claim 110 , wherein the coating a surface of the leather comprises coating one surface of the leather.
126 . The method of claim 110 , wherein the coating a surface of the leather comprises coating two surfaces of the leather.
127 . The method of claim 110 further comprising dyeing the surface of the leather prior to coating a surface of the leather with the silk fibroin composition.
128 . The method of claim 110 further comprising dyeing the surface of the material after coating a surface of the leather with the silk fibroin composition.